Government Denies Bi-Polar Mining Policies Alluded To By President Obasanjo

Zambia has reacted sharply to Assertions by Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo that the country has inconsistent mining policies. Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba has said that Zambia takes great exception to remarks by President Obasanjo who was speaking at the ongoing Africa Mining Indaba in Cape town

Mr. Mwamba stated that Zambia’s Mining policy has been under revision to ensure that it responded to the need and aspirations of its people for the benefit of the country and local communities.

Discussing Africa’s mining potential, President Obasanjo stated that to date it has been poorly managed meaning the people who should benefit from resources the most are not;

‘With four major mining tax regime changes in five years, the country’s tax regime has offered precisely the opposite to the stability investors seek, with long-term consequences. As Zambia’s Minister of Finance himself noted to parliament in April 2016, such policy prevarication invariably damages the country’s investor credibility which ‘is anchored on two themes: predictability and consistency. ‘If somersaults are going to be our recipe,’ he said, ‘such will reduce investor confidence in our country’

This did not stop Mr Mwamba spinning Zambia’s dubious economic position at the moment though, telling journalists ‘Zambia’s economic performance remains impressive.’ His optimism is greatly at odds with the forecast from the WorldBank who in December 2017 reduced our growth forecast from 4.1% to just 3.8%.

Perhaps the Government would do better heeding the advice of Statesmen who have been through this process themselves, rather than lashing out at those merely pointing out the obvious.